JIMMY Savile held sway at the heart of Mrs Thatcher's government, newly released files have show.

At the height of Savile's fame he pulled strings all the way up to 10 Downing Street, a letter released under the 30-year rule and made public for the first time has shown.

During a very cosy relationship with the prime minister, the Top Of The Pops and Jim'll Fix It host wrote describing his "love" for her.

Savile also made chilling references to "my girl patients" and "paralyzed lads" as he sought help in raising funds for Stoke Mandeville Hospital near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire.

It has since emerged to be one of a series of places where Savile preyed on vulnerable people, abusing them over decades.

An ITV documentary aired on October 4 prompted hundreds of people across the country to come forward about the abuse they say they suffered at Savile's hands.

Other correspondence between the pair has reportedly been censored, raising questions over what it contains.

Notes on the file reportedly show that several pages were removed and material from other entries deleted for 40 years by officials using exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act on 11 October this year – a week after ITV broadcast a documentary revealing allegations of sexual assault against Savile.

I waited a week before writing to thank you for my lunch invitation because I had such a superb time I didn't want to be too effusive.

Jimmy Savile, writing to Margaret Thatcher

In February 1980, following a meeting with Mrs Thatcher, Savile wrote a "thank you" letter on paper headed with a grinning photograph of himself.

He gushed: "I waited a week before writing to thank you for my lunch invitation because I had such a superb time I didn't want to be too effusive.

"My girl patients pretended to be madly jealous and wanted to know what you wore and what you ate. All the paralysed lads called me 'Sir James' all week."

He finished by telling Mrs Thatcher his patients "love you" and added "me too" before signing himself Jimmy Savile OBE, with a smiley face written into the loop of the "J".

The 21-page dossier reveals that during meetings and lunches at Downing Street and Chequers, Savile badgered the Tory leader to introduce tax concessions for charities and donate money to Stoke Mandeville.

The 1982 letter written by Jimmy Savile to Margaret Thatcher

His attentions seemed to unnerve her personal secretary Caroline Stephens, who asked in a memo whether she offered him money or promised to appear on Jim'll Fix It?

Mrs Thatcher wrote across the note, saying she promised "personal money" and a "Government contribution" but denied offering to appear on his trademark TV show.

In December, health secretary Norman Fowler agreed to hand over £500,000 to Savile for the hospital's spinal injuries unit.

Since Savile's death last year aged 84, police have received more than 450 allegations of sexual assault against him, mostly from victims who were young girls at the time.